SPUN is the debut video from Danny Turner and his film company Hypoxic Films based in Northern California.

Concept

SPUN was shot in California, Arizona, and Florida by Turner and crew, and it almost could be called a Gator Boards team video. The majority of the riders in the video ride for Gator Boards. The full list of riders is:

What's cool about this group of riders in this film is that it's not the normal guys you see in every other video. I had never seen footage of Conway and Moore before, and the other guys just aren't caught on film that often. It's always enjoyable to see the styles of riders you don't see every day.

Cinematography

SPUN is shot entirely in digital. While I personally still prefer film, it seems like film movies are becoming more and more rare. Digital is just so much cheaper, easier to work with, and you can shoot for so much more time with it.

There are a variety of angles used in SPUN such as tube shots, chase boat, from land, and standard from the boat footage. Each rider has clips from all the angles giving a good perspective of their riding. A few times the camera seems to be bouncing a bit more than we'd like, but overall it's pretty darn solid.

Length

SPUN is the standard length of most DVDs these days, right around the 30 minute mark. One advantage though is SPUN doesn't have any off the water or filler footage. It's 30 minutes of nothing but wakeboarding.

Music

The music in SPUN is a mix of artists and styles. You'll find Wyclef Jean, KRS-1, Van Morrison, and others. The music fits the riding well, although I wasn't in love with the song choice for the crash section which was "It's My Party I Can Cry if I Want To".

Riding

As I mentioned above, I enjoy seeing riders that don't get to be seen that often, and SPUN definitely delivers in that department. There aren't any groundbreaking tricks from any of the riders, but you'll see some variations on tricks and get to see some different styles.

Wes Briscoe - Briscoe is a powerful rider who also has a solid sense of style. He has a long section that includes a Crow Mobe 540, Grabbed Roll to Blind, Heelside 720 off the double up, lots of spins, and a bunch of solid wrapped landings. During some of the footage Briscoe riders without a life jacket, which I hate to see after some of the tragedies that have happened in the sport.

Gator Lutgert - Gator used to be a video star a few years back with some of the best wakeboarding video parts ever. His repeated knee injuries and temporary retirement from the sport followed by spending a lot of time working on his company have kept Gator from showing his riding publicly over the past few years. However, he still shows he has some skills and still can go big. One particular trick that caught my eye was a big Crail Toeside Backside 180 off the double up. Doing the Crail Grab first makes the trick have a shifty feel to it. He also pulls some big double-grabbed Heelside Off-Axis 360s with some solid late grabs. There are other highlights such as an OHH Krypt, big tweaked 180s, and some solid tricks on the "ghetto land gap kicker" that a few of the riders hit.

Josh Smith - Like Gator, Smith was an early video star. He still rides in his own unique way out on the California Delta. He brings a variety of wrapped spins with unique grabs, as well as some big Backside 180s where he takes them out to the flats.

Jake Huso - Huso was been a lesser-known pro rider for a long time now, but he's the type that's never chased the spotlight. His section includes some nice Pete Roses, a huge Indy Nosepoke, Roll to Blind, and some Hoochie Glide variations.

Wreck Section - There's a nice variety of wrecks in the wreck section as you see the riders pushing their limits. Even though some people think wreck sections are played out in videos, I've always been a big fan of them. It's a reminder that even the best riders get punished, and you often get to see some clips of the tricks riders are trying but haven't landed or perfected yet.

Chad Morin - Morin is another guy who's been on the scene for a long time and been a longtime Lake Pickett guy. Morin does some nice wrapped spin and shows off his poppy style of grabbed inverts where he has mellow cuts and goes up but not out.

Rich Facciano - Facciano earned his fame as part of the core DoubleUP team, and he's still riding strong on the Delta. He launches some huge and smooth spins in a way that can't be compared with anyone else. His Toeside Backside 180s are very impressive.

Aaron Aubrey - Aubrey is an up and coming Westsider who has a brief part in the video of only a few tricks, but he shows a smooth riding style with some wrapped spins and normal spins.

Shawn Moore - Moore is a rider I had previously never heard of before. When I read the box I thought it was the Shaun Moore from Florida who has been a big part of the sport for a long time adn been part of Alliance, Liquid Force, the Pro Tour, and other endeavors and companies. However, this is a different Shawn Moore, but he rides quie well. A smooth Indy Tantrum to Blind, 540s, and some stylish pokes caught my eye.

Ricky Gonzales - Gonzales has the strongest part of the video, and it's fitting for him to take the last section. His goes huge on some grabs and a double up Roll to Revert, and has one of the sickest late Backside 540s I've seen. He throws down lots of technical tricks like Moby Dicks, Tantrums to Blind, Pete Roses, Tootsie Rolls, and more. One of the coolest tricks of the video is the Batwing he does off the "ghetto land gap". It's a very short transition, but he managed to get that Batwing going off of it and landed smoothly.

Bonus Features

The bonus features on the SPUN DVD consist of two trailers for the video along with a tour of Ricky Gonzales' truck which has a custom audio system, rims, Playstation and screen in the dash, and other nice features.

Overall

SPUN's strength lies in it's unique riders that you don't get to see every day, and the fact that the video is filled entirely with wakeboarding instead of other filler footage. The digital filming, weather, and lighting in some of the film leaves it with kind of a grey feel to it though, and there really isn't any groundbreaking riding. However, it is a solid debut effort from Danny Turner and Hypoxic Films. It'll be interesting to watch where he goes from here.